I found the website where they have the plans for the hossfled bender
http://www.kinzers.com/don/MachineTools/bender/ http://www.kinzers.com/don/MachineTools/bender/
Making dies???
Re: Making dies???
I am a big hossfeld bender fan, and I use it for all kinds of things. But it is not always the best bender for the job- its weakest area is thin wall tubing- but jd2, another manufacturer, is doing more dies for that application.
The only degree indicator I have seen for a hossfeld is a semicircular sticker that goes on the lower circular flat bar. Then you can repeat a bend, by bending to the same mark.
But hossfeld benders come with a stop- so you can bend the same angle again and again- I use it all the time. It is not uncommon for me to bend 100 or 200 identical parts on my hossfeld. I use the factory length stops, as well as the factory degree of bend stops. Sometimes I have to kludge something up with vise grips and scrap metal, but I have never had a problem with repeatablity with the hossfeld.
As far as I know, hossfeld dies are made in the US- I toured the factory in 89, and the whole place was full of wooden patterns for dies, which they sent out to a foundry. Maybe they have changed now, but it all used to be made in wisconsin or minnesota.
Now that the patents have expired, you can get dies from hossfeld, american bender, and jd2. each has their own specialty- american is a cnc shop which makes a nice basic range, jd2 specialises in tube and pipe for automotive, and hossfeld makes everything.
If you make your own, make it standard hossfeld spec, 4" tall gap, 3/4" pins, and you can buy dies from all three, or used from ebay.
I am attaching a sample of something I made on the hossfeld- one of a series of about a dozen pieces of furniture for downtown Bellingham Wa. 3/8" Stainless, hundreds of parts all bent the same.
The only degree indicator I have seen for a hossfeld is a semicircular sticker that goes on the lower circular flat bar. Then you can repeat a bend, by bending to the same mark.
But hossfeld benders come with a stop- so you can bend the same angle again and again- I use it all the time. It is not uncommon for me to bend 100 or 200 identical parts on my hossfeld. I use the factory length stops, as well as the factory degree of bend stops. Sometimes I have to kludge something up with vise grips and scrap metal, but I have never had a problem with repeatablity with the hossfeld.
As far as I know, hossfeld dies are made in the US- I toured the factory in 89, and the whole place was full of wooden patterns for dies, which they sent out to a foundry. Maybe they have changed now, but it all used to be made in wisconsin or minnesota.
Now that the patents have expired, you can get dies from hossfeld, american bender, and jd2. each has their own specialty- american is a cnc shop which makes a nice basic range, jd2 specialises in tube and pipe for automotive, and hossfeld makes everything.
If you make your own, make it standard hossfeld spec, 4" tall gap, 3/4" pins, and you can buy dies from all three, or used from ebay.
I am attaching a sample of something I made on the hossfeld- one of a series of about a dozen pieces of furniture for downtown Bellingham Wa. 3/8" Stainless, hundreds of parts all bent the same.
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deere_x475guy
Re: Making dies???
Rodzilla, I am going to start working on this plan in January. My new shop should be up and running with heat by then. Has anyone else tried this?
Bob
Bob
Re: Making dies???
Wow I can't believe this post is still going. I've learned a lot since that first post but really haven't had a chance to put much of it into practice due to lack of money and time... mostly time. However I feel the knowledge that I've aquired from this site is really going to help when my I finally get some time to start setting up my shop not too mention helping me avoid rushing into things without thinking them through first. With that all said...
I think I have decided to go with a hossfeld type bender for my bending needs. Again I'm a hobbyist and will only be using my tools for one off projects. Seeing that its the most versatile was the main deciding factor. Now that I've decided what type of bender I'm going to get... my new question is also similar to deere_x475guy 's in that I too was thinking of building the bender from those plans posted previously. However I've seen cheaper hossfeld look alikes at harbor Freight and other tool places. I definately can't afford a trued hossfeld. Would I be better off building my own bender as per these plans and learning the skills needed to build such a tool or should I just go ahead and buy one of the cheapy HF models and get to bending sooner? Also going back to my first post... what are the chances that dies that I cast myself would even work? I will have the capacity to cast both aluminum and cast iron when I get my furnace working. Would they need additional machining after I cast them? I don't have a lathe or a mill yet so I was hoping if I could get my castings good enough I wouldn't have to do much machining on them.
I think I have decided to go with a hossfeld type bender for my bending needs. Again I'm a hobbyist and will only be using my tools for one off projects. Seeing that its the most versatile was the main deciding factor. Now that I've decided what type of bender I'm going to get... my new question is also similar to deere_x475guy 's in that I too was thinking of building the bender from those plans posted previously. However I've seen cheaper hossfeld look alikes at harbor Freight and other tool places. I definately can't afford a trued hossfeld. Would I be better off building my own bender as per these plans and learning the skills needed to build such a tool or should I just go ahead and buy one of the cheapy HF models and get to bending sooner? Also going back to my first post... what are the chances that dies that I cast myself would even work? I will have the capacity to cast both aluminum and cast iron when I get my furnace working. Would they need additional machining after I cast them? I don't have a lathe or a mill yet so I was hoping if I could get my castings good enough I wouldn't have to do much machining on them.
Been you to have any spliff man?
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Brad Brown
Re: Hossfeld bender? Do you have one with dies?
Hello, I'm looking for a #2 hossfeld bender with dies. If you can lead me to one please contact me back at bbrown22911@msn.com Thanks Brad
Re: Hossfeld bender? Do you have one with dies?
For some reason that I have never been able to understand, the used Hossfeld market is miserable- the vast majority of them are way overpriced, and missing almost all their tooling. I hear stories of the 50 dollar hossfeld, but I have never seen one, or actually met somebody who got one.
On EBAY, they routinely go for 90% of new price. Then you need to spend hundreds more getting the basic tooling which didnt come with it.
So If I was you, I would bite the bullet and buy a new one- either from american, or hossfeld, they run around $800 for the basic package. Then you can add dies as you need them. The machine itself will last forever, and the resale value is high- so if you buy one new, you will actually be making parts with it, as opposed to spending years looking for that good deal on a used one.
On EBAY, they routinely go for 90% of new price. Then you need to spend hundreds more getting the basic tooling which didnt come with it.
So If I was you, I would bite the bullet and buy a new one- either from american, or hossfeld, they run around $800 for the basic package. Then you can add dies as you need them. The machine itself will last forever, and the resale value is high- so if you buy one new, you will actually be making parts with it, as opposed to spending years looking for that good deal on a used one.
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steamin10
- Posts: 6712
- Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2003 11:52 pm
- Location: NW Indiana. Close to Lake Michigan S. tip
Re: Hossfeld bender? Do you have one with dies?
I hate to recommend it, but I will mention it. Horror Fright has a hydraulic bender with a variety of shoes for under a hundred bucks. While no Hossfield, in a limited sense it would be OK I think for the home shadetree guy (me) to own one for the occasional bending job. If nothing else the shoes will allow you to adapt to other power systems, and bend pipe. Good luck.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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sandman2234
- Posts: 570
- Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 3:47 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, Fl
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sandman2234
- Posts: 570
- Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 3:47 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, Fl
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sandman2234
- Posts: 570
- Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 3:47 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, Fl
By the way, anybody recognize the piece in the bottom of the second post, as I don't know what it does, and the seller said it was part of my Diacro bender.
Opps,
I just figured it out, as that is a mounting part to hold the bender to the factory table. Mine is mounted on a shop made table, with an extension to hold the air cylinder that operates the handle. Duhhhh... should have looked a little before asking questions, but SWMBO was ready to go and I was holding her up.
David from jax
Opps,
I just figured it out, as that is a mounting part to hold the bender to the factory table. Mine is mounted on a shop made table, with an extension to hold the air cylinder that operates the handle. Duhhhh... should have looked a little before asking questions, but SWMBO was ready to go and I was holding her up.
David from jax
BP 2j vs, SB lathe, W& S #4 Turret lathe, Maho 600P
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steamin10
- Posts: 6712
- Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2003 11:52 pm
- Location: NW Indiana. Close to Lake Michigan S. tip
WOW, this is an old post. But No, that is not the set I was talking about. I am not sure just what that set is.
The HF thing I was refering to was about $160 or so , and was fitted over a jack with shoes that would bend pipe and tubing of large sizes. The shoes were cast and barely finished, a cheep but workable unit.
A Diacro is a very simple but pretty expensive machine for the home shop. Very much more than what would be needed in most cases. I used a hydraulic model to produce limited parts runs at a job I did. There is also a manual model that uses the same dies, but is limited by the operators strength on the bending arm.
The HF thing I was refering to was about $160 or so , and was fitted over a jack with shoes that would bend pipe and tubing of large sizes. The shoes were cast and barely finished, a cheep but workable unit.
A Diacro is a very simple but pretty expensive machine for the home shop. Very much more than what would be needed in most cases. I used a hydraulic model to produce limited parts runs at a job I did. There is also a manual model that uses the same dies, but is limited by the operators strength on the bending arm.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.